We have popcorn, nachos, and hot wings at the ready today for our favorite spectator sport, watching Rep. Joe Salazar (D-Rape Whistle) make a jackass of himself.

Today’s binge viewing is the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee hearing at 1:30 p.m. on a bill to repeal the ban on selling firearm magazines.

Salazar is vice chairman of the committee so he will be up front and center leading the effort to defeat the repeal with his lame-brained style we have grown accustomed to mocking.

It will be tough for Salazar to beat the world record – which he set — for most asinine comment ever made in regards to guns.

Tell us again, Joe, why is it exactly that women should not carry guns to protect themselves from being sexually assaulted?

“It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles,” Salazar said two yeas ago. “Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody.”

There it is ladies and gentlemen! Idiotic gold! It was that gafftastic reasoning that killed this particular gun control effort regarding concealed carry.

We tried to do some research to get the statistics on how many rapes have occurred near call boxes, or were prevented using a whistle, or happened in a safe zone where law-abiding rapists fear to tread, but Google kept referring us to Salazar’s whack comments that made him the national poster boy for absurdity.

During today’s debate, Rep. Steven Humphrey, R-Severance will introduce his bill to repeal the ban on standard-capacity magazines for firearms. According to the Colorado Legislative Council, there has been only one conviction since the useless law took effect last year.

We expect Salazar’s war on women will continue and that he will vote against the repeal, citing his dim-witted belief that females would “pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody” just because they “feel” like they might be raped.

Or perhaps he will suggest a new method of self-defense to offset that pesky 2nd Amendment like, don’t leave the house without your husband’s permission, or, don’t walk down the street without a male member of the family to accompany you, and for goodness sakes, wear a burka.

As a woman and a supporter of women’s rights and marriage equality, I am totally gasping at the Post’s endorsement of Cory Gardner. Please Denver Post retract your endorsement of Cory Gardner. I started this petition because I am a woman and am a strong advocate for women’s rights and marriage equality. I also care about our environment, immigration reform, health care, jobs, tax reform, and a functioning Congress. Mark Udall is the only choice for U.S. Senate in Colorado if these things are important to you!

Of course, it’s probably not necessary to point out that Gardner has been innovative regarding women’s rights, and most of the other issues that the author of this petition hits; whereas, Udall has been entirely ineffective during his tenure in Washington, D.C., but we digress.

Since 2004, The Denver Post has almost exclusively endorsed Democrats for major statewide offices. Here’s a breakdown of the endorsements:

This is the first time in ten years that The Denver Post has endorsed a Republican for a major statewide office. In those past ten years, how many times has the Republican Party thrown such an epic temper tantrum over an endorsement? Sure, we grumble and say we expected this with the liberal mentality over there, but liberals have taken this to a whole new level that borders on mob mentality and censorship.

To actually recruit Democratic leaders to write their own endorsements to place in the paper, distribute a petition calling for the retraction of the endorsement (protected under the First Amendment), and then hold a pseudo protest is attempting to bully the newspaper to report as liberals prefer is wrong. If the right were engaging in such tactics, we’d think they were wrong – and tacky, too. The left has every right to disagree with The Denver Post, but this is a step too far.

The real question is whether The Nature Conservancy, NARAL and other leftist groups are really concerned about these issues or their investment in Mark Udall and his dependable vote.

Former Congresswoman Betsy Markey, now candidate for state treasurer, just loves to tout her “private sector experience.” However, we have to take issue with this after reviewing Markey’s CV because she’s barely spent anytime there. The bulk of career has actually been spent in government, and we get the feeling that she just can’t seem to find work elsewhere.

According to Wikipedia, Markey entered politics right out of college working on the staff of U.S. Senator John A. Durkin (D-NH). She later worked for a Congressional subcommittee. Markey then spent most of the 1980s hopping between government jobs at the U.S. Treasury and State Department.

Later in life, Markey worked on the staff of for former Sen. Ken Salazar before announcing her run for Congress. She won in 2008 and spent the next two years back in D.C. After her defeat in 2010, Markey got what many believed was payoff for her vote in favor of Obamacare when she was appointed Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Homeland Security. She recently resigned that post to run for Treasurer.

Yes, Markey did spend a couple years in the private sector but the bulk of her career has been spent earning her living from the government. If she were truly sympathetic to the plight of small business owners, as she claims to be, then she never would have voted for Obamacare in the first place. It’s totally disingenuous for Markey to pretend like she’s got her thumb on the pulse of the private sector, and we wish reporters would stop letting her get away with it.

Some people genuinely feel the calling to serve in public office, while others are just unemployable outside of politics. We get the feeling that Markey falls into the latter category.

Coloradans for Responsible Reform (CFRR) recently filed a campaign finance complaint with the Secretary of State’s Office alleging that liberal U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’ anti-fracking (aka local control) groups have failed to report contributions. Was it something we said?

From the press release:

“On May 19, Coloradans for Safe and Clean Energy (CSCE), the Polis issue committee, reported that it had received contributions totaling $1.45 million from Coloradans for Local Control (CLC), another Polis-backed entity. Spokesmen for CSCE indicated to news organizations that they were not required to list the sources of CLC’s funding since it was not a registered issue committee, leaving the public in the dark about the funding sources for Polis’ anti-energy ballot issues.

However, CFRR has learned that Coloradans for Local Control designated Coloradans for Safe and Clean Energy as its trade name on the same day that CSCE registered as an issue committee. For this reason, Coloradans for Local Control d/b/a Coloradans for Safe and Clean Energy is in violation of campaign finance laws by failing to report its contributions and expenditures.”

What’s the big deal, Rep. Polis? Since you’ve publicly stated that you’re funding these ridiculously bad ideas, we’d think you’d be proud to be on TRACER. Unless, you’ve secured more funding from folks less palatable than you…. Perhaps Tom Steyer? What about Michael Bloomberg? He keeps popping up everywhere. Who is on that list that is so super secret? We’re dying to know. It’s not like it’s the right that uses government institutions like the IRS to punish political opponents (ahem, Sen. Bennet, Lois Lerner and President Obama).

Perhaps the worst news here is that CFRR is not even a right leaning organization. This is lefties, such as Kelly Brough, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, going after lefties. If that’s the case, where were you, Colorado Ethics Watch? You’re non-partisan, right? RIGHT?

Earlier this year, former Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar came out in favor of fracking. Now, the current Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has said fracking can be done safely. Jewell who was appearing before a Congressional committee had this to say (via The Colorado Observer):

“It absolutely can be done and has been done safely and responsibly,” Jewell said.

A former engineer at Mobil Corp., Jewell prefaced her comment by underlining her experience with the process of hydraulic fracturing.

“I may be one of the few secretaries of the Interior that has actually fracked wells before. I do understand the science behind this,” Jewell said. [the Peak emphasis]

The facts are not with fractivists. It is only a matter of time before the average Coloradan starts to associate their science-denying ways with those of truthers and birthers. Your new home fractivists? The fringe. Enjoy!

Liberal U.S. Senator Mark Udall’s campaign has made much hay about Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck’s decision to abandon his race for U.S. Senator in favor of U.S. Rep Cory Gardner. The campaign has even adorably dubbed the decision the “Centennial State Swap”, but as The Denver Post‘s Lynn Bartels writes, Udall may have firsthand experience with stepping down in a race when a better candidate is in the picture:

But Udall knows a little something about stepping aside in a U.S. Senate race.

Ten years ago this month, Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell unexpectedly dropped his re-election bid for the U.S. Senate.

On the night of March 9, then-Congressman Udall dialed reporters. “I’m in,” the mountain climber said. “I’m packing my sleeping bag and racking my ropes, and I’ll have more to say about it tomorrow.”

But think-tank founder Rutt Bridges already was in the race, and Attorney General Ken Salazar had decided to run. The next morning, they ate breakfast at a Westminster restaurant and talked about what to do. Udall and Salazar both still wanted to run.

That afternoon, Udall climbed the steps of the state Capitol and stood by Salazar’s side as Salazar announced he would seek the Democratic nomination. Salazar won that November.

What kind of a deal had been reached in those few hours?

There wasn’t one, Udall’s then- chief of staff, Alan Salazar, said at the time. After breakfast, Udall and his wife and friends huddled together talking about how important it was that a Democrat reclaim the Senate seat.

“Wouldn’t it be really bold,” Udall finally asked, ” if a politician could put aside his ambition and put the party first?”

Funny. One could almost replace Udall’s name with Buck’s name and Salazar with Gardner. Oddly, the left is clinging to this “backroom deal” narrative despite having nearly invented the maneuver. It’s really too bad that Udall has done nothing over the past six years and is now struggling to figure out how to market himself. One thing is certain – he shouldn’t be throwing stones in his biodegradable, energy-efficient, solar-powered glass house.

Senator Mark Udall’s Rasmussen poll numbers published last week might be as good as it gets for the embattled Senator. Starting this week, Americans For Prosperity are going up on TV with this ad for a buy of $500,000 that will run over the next three weeks as reported by Politico. This will be paired with a simultaneous buy for the Colorado Springs TV market to the tune of $340,000. The Professional Left has already come out hard against the ad trying to disparage it in any way they can. Noticeably absent in their many critiques is the content. It’s not so much who is saying the words, as the words themselves:

From the ad:

“And millions of people have lost their health insurance. Millions of people can’t see their own doctor. And millions are paying more and getting less.”

Bang the table and shout at the top of your lungs Lefties because these statements are true and Udall is fully culpable for each of them.

We’ve linked to earlier AFP ads that have gone up around the country to great effect saying at the time:

We’re betting Senator Mark Udall is praying Americans For Prosperity runs out of money before the organization gets a chance to unleash these devastating ads against him in Colorado.

Not only has AFP not run out of money, but it seems Udall has jumped quite a few other vulnerable Democratic U.S. Senators in line as an AFP target. We can’t blame them as bad news on Obamacare and various miscues have taken Udall’s re-election chances from bad to worse.

This has left Udall in need of drastic measures. On one hand, he can go all in after this week’s bedtime story and whore himself out to billionaire Tom Steyer in hopes Steyer’s eco-dollars can combat AFP’s money. While this will endear Udall to the far left (and his wife), polls have shown the majority of Coloradans are in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline, something Steyer refuses to support in any form. On the other hand, he can try to neutralize Keystone XL by pulling a Ken Salazar, but this route kisses Steyer’s dollars goodbye and makes for some awkward backtracking (not to mention it reserves him a spot sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future).

Looking around and realizing there’s nothing but bad options is a sure sign of a failing campaign.

We literally laughed when we heard the news that recently-recalled state Sen. Angela Giron had designs on running for Secretary of State. Kelly Maher of Compass Colorado noted:

“It’s confounding to think that after being fired from the voters of her district now Senator Giron thinks she needs a promotion. Giron’s condescension and her failure to listen to constituents is the albatross around her neck. There’s no reason to believe that it would be any different in a higher office with even more people to represent.”

A recent report found that the reason for Giron’s recall was, well, Giron. According to a focus group: Continue reading→

Surprise, surprise. Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar has teamed up with billionaire conservationist Louis Bacon to form America’s Conservation PAC. And, wouldn’t you know it, but Louis Bacon is BFF with another billionaire with ties to Colorado – on his way out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Where have we run into him before? That’s right – he’s been meddling in Colorado politics, funding by the millions out of touch, extreme organizations. He’s also funded “beloved” candidates like former liberal state Senator Angela Giron, who was so hated by her constituents that she lost her Senate seat that had a 19-point Democratic advantage. We can’t wait for this political action committee to get up and running. Continue reading→

During former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s time in the Obama administration he constantly touted his spearheading of commercial-scale solar projects on federal land.

He told The Denver Post‘s Mark Jaffe in 2011 that the locations chosen were the “sweet spots.”

Well, it turns out those spots weren’t so sweet after all. When an auction was held yesterday for the solar industry to bid on the federal plots in Colorado, a grand total of zero – yes, zero – bids were placed.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A first-ever competitive auction held here today that was supposed to drive future development of commercial-scale projects inside solar energy zones across the Southwest was a dud, drawing no industry bids.

The auction results startled top officials with the Bureau of Land Management, who conceded the agency may now have to go back and review its plans to get developers to commit to projects inside the two solar energy zones (SEZs) up for bid at today’s auction in Colorado, as well as 17 other SEZs spread across six Southwestern states.

BLM had wanted the first competitive bidding auction here to serve as a model for how to guide solar development in the SEZs across the West. Today’s auction involved three parcels, including a 1,064-acre parcel in the so-called De Tilla Gulch SEZ in Saguache County, and two parcels covering 2,600 acres inside the Los Mogotes East SEZ in nearby Conejos County.

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